One man suffered injuries and was taken by Mercy Flight after his pick-up truck collided head-on with a tractor-trailer Friday, on Route 63 in the Town of Bethany.

Bethany Fire Chief Jeff Fluker tells WBTA News the crash happened just before 11:00a.m. at the intersection of Route 63 and Fargo Road. It appears the driver of the pick-up may have missed or disregarded the stop sign on Fargo Road, and turned directly onto Route 63 at moderate speed.

But an oncoming tractor-trailer slammed head-on into the front of the pick-up, driving it back over a hundred feet. The pick-up was totaled and the tractor-trailer sustained heavy front-end damage, including a cracked radiator.

George Volwerk was driving the big-rig, hauling detergent for XTL Trucking. He said the pick-up seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"At that moment, you're helpless," Volwerk said at the scene. "You just go with your instinct to avoid any further loss." Volwerk said he slammed on his brakes and turned the wheel, but couldn't avoid the crash.

"This is a dangerous curve for me," Volwerk said, having driven Route 63 many times before. "I have to slow down to take it."

The driver of the pick-up was taken to Strong Hospital in Rochester, via Mercy Flight. Chief Fluker could only say the man had suffered a broken ankle, along with other injuries. A passenger in the pick-up sustained only minor injuries.
George Volwerk says it's not his first collision with a smaller car. In another crash several years ago, a lady was killed when she rammed into his truck.

"Truck drivers out here...they've got a job that's very demanding," Volwerk said. "You've got to have the guts to get over this type of thing...but you do."